All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
GLAAD just released its annual Studio Responsibility Index, and things are not good for trans representation.
GLAAD surveyed all the films released by eight major motion picture studios during 2020 and, unfortunately, no transgender characters at all were found. This lack of representation hits especially hard in a time when transgender people are facing a barrage of new anti-trans bills across the country.
This is the fourth year in a row that transgender and nonbinary characters have been completely absent from the report. GLAAD also found no LGBTQ+ characters living with HIV and no LGBTQ+ characters with disabilities.
\u201cOur Ninth Annual Studio Responsibility Index finds a growth in racial diversity and screen time for LGBTQ characters, but zero transgender characters in 2020 wide release films\nhttps://t.co/mYap1EdMVk\u201d— GLAAD (@GLAAD) 1626357960
Due to the international pandemic, this year's survey results were limited to just 44 films, compared to 118 films the previous year. Out of the 44 films, 10 (or 22.7 percent) featured LGBTQ+ characters. This is an increase of 4.1 percent from the previous year, but is less than half the number of films (last year there were 22).
In those ten films, there were 20 LGBTQ+ characters, a decrease from 50 in last year's report, again, largely due to fewer films being released. Out of the 20, eleven are women and nine are men, making it the first time in the report's history that queer women characters outnumber queer men.
The studios surveyed were Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, STX, United Artists, Universal, Disney, and Warner Bros., as well as four subsidiaries of those studios.
"We know that LGBTQ audiences are a powerful and invested audience -- and a quickly growing one -- as we see more and more people empowered to live their authentic lives," Megan Townsend, GLAAD's director of entertainment research & analysis, said in a release. "The power, passion, and growth of LGBTQ audiences proves that if studios wish to be successful in retaining and expanding fans, they must tell meaningful queer and trans stories."
Fortunately, while the number of characters is going down, their screen time is going up. LGBTQ+ characters in eight of the 10 films that had them got more than ten minutes of screen time. In previous reports, more than half of all LGBTQ+ characters got less than three minutes of screen time.
The last time there was a trans character in a movie released by a major studio was 2016, when Benedict Cumberbatch played All, an offensive and absurd stereotype-filled character who only existed to mock nonbinary people in the movie Zoolander 2.
The year before, there was also only one trans character in a major release, and that was a gag character who existed to give the audience a laugh when her identity is revealed in the comedy Hot Pursuit. There were no trans characters the previous year in 2014.
RELATED | Here Are the 200 Best LGBTQ+ Movies of All Time
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
These are all the celebrities Who came out as LGBTQ+ in 2023
29 LGBTQ+ celebs you can follow on OnlyFans
26 actors who showed bare ass in movies & TV shows
17 times male celebrities had to say they weren't gay
21 LGBTQ+ reality dating shows & where to watch them
15 Unforgettable Gay Kissing Scenes From TV & Movies
14 queens who quit or retired from drag after 'RuPaul's Drag Race'
40 steamy celebrity Calvin Klein ads we'll always be thirsty for
The 15 Best LGBTQ+ Movies of 2023
These Are the Porn Stars the Gays Searched For the Most in 2023
Trending stories from our video partner Advocate Channel.
For more videos and shows go to advocatechannel.com.
Latest Stories
Sniffies' sexy new clothing collection will help you cruise in style
Kyle Krieger shares adorable video with his boyfriend Mason Morrow
'Supernatural' actors DJ Qualls & Ty Olsson are engaged
'Selling the OC's Sean shares new texts with Austin to prove his story
May 17, 2024
Miguel Ángel Silvestre knows what the people want: more 'Sense8'
Sky's out, thighs out: 25 pics of guys in short shorts to heat up your summer
15 pics of queer celebs rocking some slutty little crop tops
How 'I Saw the TV Glow' shows a trans side of horror
'X-Men '97' creator confirms Morph confessed feelings for this fellow teammate
Trending stories
Most Recent
Recommended Stories for You
Mey Rude
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.